Bill
Will Establish 'National Emergency Centers' On Military Installations
--FEMA Camps Mandated in H.R.
645 22 Jan 2009 A Bill to direct the Secretary
of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military
installations. SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the 'National Emergency
Centers Establishment Act'. SECTION 2. ESTABLISHMENT
OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS. (a) In General - In accordance
with the requirements of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall establish not fewer than 6 national emergency centers on military
installations... (b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers... (3) to provide
centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response,
and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities
and faith-based organizations; and (4) to meet other appropriate needs,
as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

On Thursday,
the Bush administration issued a directive that, 'establishes a National
Strategy for Public Health and Medical Preparedness (Strategy), which
builds upon principles set forth in Biodefense for the 21st Century
(April 2004) and will transform our national approach to protecting the
health of the American people against [with] all disasters.'

HOMELAND
SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD-21, issued 18 October 2007,
states that within one year of the directive's date, 'the Secretaries
of Health and Human Services and Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries
of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, shall establish an academic
Joint Program for Disaster Medicine and Public Health housed at a National
Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health at the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences... Department of Health and Human
Services and Department of Defense authorities will be used to carry out
respective civilian and military missions within this joint program.'

(3) A catastrophic
health event, such as a terrorist attack with a weapon of mass destruction
(WMD), a naturally-occurring pandemic, or a calamitous meteorological
or geological event, could cause tens or hundreds of thousands of casualties
or more, weaken our economy, damage public morale and confidence, and
threaten our national security. It is therefore critical that we establish
a strategic vision that will enable a level of public health and medical
preparedness sufficient to address a range of possible disasters.

(4) The United States
has made significant progress in public health and medical preparedness
since 2001, but we remain vulnerable to events that threaten the health
of large populations. The attacks of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina
were the most significant recent disasters faced by the United States,
yet casualty numbers were small [!] in comparison to the 1995 Kobe earthquake;
the 2003 Bam, Iran, earthquake; the 2004 Sumatra tsunami; and what
we would expect from a 1918-like influenza pandemic or large-scale
WMD attack.

Education and
Training

(38) Within 1 year
after the date of this directive, the Secretaries of Health and Human
Services and Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries of Veterans
Affairs and Homeland Security, shall establish an academic Joint Program
for Disaster Medicine and Public Health housed at a National Center
for Disaster Medicine and Public Health at the Uniformed Services University
of the Health Sciences. The Program shall lead Federal efforts to develop
and propagate core curricula, training, and research related to medicine
and public health in disasters. The Center will be an academic center
of excellence in disaster medicine and public health, co-locating education
and research in the related specialties of domestic medical preparedness
and response, international health, international disaster and humanitarian
medical assistance, and military medicine. Department of Health and
Human Services and Department of Defense authorities will be used to
carry out respective civilian and military missions within this joint
program.

Task Force and
Implementation Plan

(43) In order to
facilitate the implementation of the policy outlined in this Strategy,
there is established the Public Health and Medical Preparedness Task
Force (Task Force). Within 120 days after the date of this directive,
the Task Force shall submit to the President for approval, through the
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism,
an Implementation Plan (Plan) for this Strategy, and annually thereafter
shall submit to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security
and Counterterrorism a status report on the implementation of the Plan
and any recommendations for changes to this Strategy.

(a) The Task Force
shall consist exclusively of the following members (or their designees
who shall be full-time officers or employees of the members respective
agencies):

(i) The Secretary
of Health and Human Services, who shall serve as Chair;

(ii) The Secretary
of State;

(ii) The Secretary
of Defense;

(iii) The Attorney
General;

(iv) The Secretary
of Agriculture;

(v) The Secretary
of Commerce;

(vi) The Secretary
of Labor;

(vii) The Secretary
of Transportation;

(viii) The Secretary
of Veterans Affairs

(ix) The Secretary
of Homeland Security;

(x) The Director
of the Office of Management and Budget;

(xi) The Director
of National Intelligence; and

(xii) such other
officers of the United States as the Chair of the Task Force may designate
from time to time.